Another WonderCon has come and gone! It was successful for sure and we were glad to see returning fans of the 2nd Shift, as well as my artwork.
We were in artist alley set up next to some talented artists and actually split the booth with our Buddy, Keith Foster, from Kodoja to help with table costs. Table cost is always a concern at this stage in the game as we’re relatively new to the scene. Are we going to make enough to pay for the booth, gas, parking, food, and then actually make enough money to get paid something? Table splitting definitely helps. I came into the convention feeling relaxed with no concerns of financials. That was a huge difference compared to other shows I’ve done. Happy to say Day 1 was the best first day of a convention I’ve ever had and was excited for the next 2.
Day 2 was a lot slower for sales, but I did have a chance to walk around the show, say hi to some friends, meet a few new artists/connections, and for the first time in 2.5 years I got to walk around and enjoy the convention. It was… weird. Its a strange thing going from being a fan/consumer to being an artist on the show, to going back to being a consumer. It wasn’t so strange I didn’t pick up some stuff for me and my God Daughter, but strange none the less.
Day 3 rolled around and turned out to be slightly better than day 2, but I didn’t feel like we moved enough of the book to feel great. There was a bright spot, however. I had a fan who picked up the first trade as San Diego Comic Fest last month and found the booth looking for the next one. He liked the story enough to track us down… What a great feeling! I had to break the news to him that we do single issues first, then the trade. He said he’d be on the lookout at the shows for the next issue. Always good hearing that people want MORE!!! Glad to know we’re not just doing these books for our own enjoyment. It keeps me more energized than you guys know!
I was going to write about my thoughts on the artists selling licensed properties art at conventions but decided to keep this a more positive message. What I will say is I was happy to be next to 2 artists from Action Lab who were all about their owns properties and not solely relying on licensed characters. Thanks to Dan Mendoza and Ray Height for the direction and info, as well as Jim Cheung who took the time to look through the 2nd shift and give me some advice. The best part of the conversation was him saying I had pretty good storytelling which is a HUGE for me. I really try to pride myself on being able to tell a story without words. Other friends, I got to talk with at the show were Mike Kingston and Michel Mulipola from Headlocked who are always top chaps. I double booked myself for Saturday night and missed out on the Wrestling panel, but was with them in spirit. It’s always great catching up with them, as well as Sean ’Cheeks’ Galloway, Gabo Bautista (who I picked up my copy of Jupiter KS book 
), and of course my cousin Charlotte, Nestor, writer Bronson and boothmate Keith Foster. It was great catching up with family and friends I haven’t seen in a long time! Anyway, I’ll leave it there and be back at it hopefully at SDCC.
Best,
SL
